May 15, 2018 Editor: Liu Yanmei

Luo Ailun, a professor of anesthesiology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH), is a pioneer in her field and has been widely praised by international experts throughout her career.

In Luo’s opinion, anesthetists are physicians in the surgical field. When receiving a patient, the anesthetist must carefully study his or her condition, pay attention to preoperative preparations and be responsible for each individual.

"There are only small surgeries; there is no such thing as simple anesthesia," Luo always says.

In the 70s, anesthesiology was just starting in China. With a stethoscope and a sphygmomanometer, Luo began her career.

However, at that time, general anesthesia and other technologies were still unknown for Chinese.

For this reason, she repeatedly went abroad for further studies and introduced the world’s advanced technologies to her country.

She has made huge contributions to the clinical, scientific research, and the development of anesthesia disciplines and personnel training in China ever since.

In May 1989, under the auspices of Luo and a group of senior experts, the Department of Anesthesiology became an independent clinical department in PUMCH, laying a solid foundation for the development of the discipline.

Luo actively advocated evidence-based medicine, paid attention to the evaluation of important organ functions and overall physiological state of the patient before surgery. She also emphasized the careful selection of anesthetic drugs and the individualized design of anesthesia programs.

Luo continuously introduced advanced anesthetic methods and management models from abroad, and created a set of safe and effective methods, which greatly improved the level of anesthesia management in critically-ill patients during the preoperative period and reduced the anesthesia mortality rate.

Luo researched on many incurable diseases and high-risk patients, leading to the rapid development of the discipline.

Luo has explained and publicized her knowledge at various academic conferences to call on anesthetists to learn and attach importance to malignant hyperthermia (MH), a fatal hereditary condition.

She even created a screening network in China to provide assistance to national anesthesiology colleagues.

Luo led her students to carry out research and established for the first time in China a method for the diagnosis of people with MH which turned out to be a success.

This finding had important guiding significance for the preoperative screening of susceptible patients and improving the safety and effectiveness of anesthesia.

During her 56 years in medicine, Luo not only served countless patients, but also trained generations of anesthetists.

In 1987, Luo became director of the Department of Anesthesiology at PUMCH.

During 13 years in her post, she actively created opportunities for young doctors to go abroad for further education, leading to an unprecedented number obtaining doctoral degrees.

The department under her leadership has the most powerful and complete talent team in the whole country, say experts.

Luo was awarded with the title of honorary academician of the UK Royal College of Anesthetists for her great contributions.

"A patient will not remember you unless he or she gets hurt in the surgery. I wish no patient of mine would remember me," said Luo.

Now, although she has officially retired for many years, and has experienced multiple strokes she still insists on going to work, rain or shine.

She said, "As long as I can work , I will try my best to reward the PUMCH and the country."